© EuroFootball.com
The fifth time in the semi-finals of the Unity Cup, "Kaunas" was successful - after four consecutive defeats in the annual tournament semi-finals, this time in intense matches, the residents of Kaunas won the penalty shootout against Moscow's "CSKA" reserves and finally made it to the final, where on Sunday they will meet the unopposed Baku "Neftchi" club.
Moscow 1 - 1 FBK (penalties 4-5) 10` [0 - 1] Gvidas Juška 56` [1 - 1] Ivan Taranov 61` Marius Žaliūkas ("Kaunas") sent off the field "Kaunas": E.Kurskis, I.Zelmikas, T.Kančelskis, N.Radžius, M.Bagužis; M.Žaliūkas, N.Machkhava, K.Ivaškevičius, T.Papečkys (77` A.Kšanavičius), L.Pilibaitis (73` Barevičius); G.Juška (59` A.Rimkevičius)
Even before the semi-finals began, the first finalist was already clear - Yerevan's "Pyunik" refused to play in the semi-final against Baku's "Neftchi" team, citing last year's mass brawl between these Armenian and Azerbaijani teams during their match, which was undoubtedly caused by longstanding hostility and opposition between the two countries and their inhabitants.
Despite the fact that the Russian Football Union guaranteed the safety of the players during the match, "Pyunik" still refused to play, so the Armenian team was given a technical defeat with a score of 3-0, and without even playing in the semi-finals, "Neftchi" made it to the final.
So, on Friday, there was only one semi-final match - where "Kaunas" met the hosts "CSKA" from Moscow, representing mostly reserve team players in this tournament. In these matches, the Kaunas team had injured forwards Andrius Velička and Ričardas Beniušis, as well as defender Mindaugas Pacevičius, who received a red card in the group stage and was disqualified for two matches.
The match started more successfully for the Lithuanian visitors - in the 10th minute, Marius Žaliūkas successfully broke through the opponents' defense and passed the ball to forward Gvidas Juška, who took advantage of the opportunity and put his team ahead. At the end of the first half, Linas Pilibaitis had a good chance to double the lead, but the Armenians managed to defend against his shots.
In the second half, the young Russians became more active and equalized the score in the 56th minute, when "CSKA" captain Ivan Taranov scored after a pass from the flank. Around the hour mark, the situation for "Kaunas" became complicated - Marius Žaliūkas earned his second yellow card for rough play, and soon after, coach Eduardas Malofejevas was also sent off the field.
However, the hosts did not capitalize on their numerical advantage, and for the remaining part of the main time, "Kaunas" managed to hold on. Just like in the quarter-finals, the Lithuanian team had to test their nerves in a penalty shootout.
The first penalty was taken by the scorer of the second match goal, I.Taranov, but his shot was saved by Eduardas Kurskis. Meanwhile, the experienced "Kaunas" players did not make any mistakes in the shootout - the shots of A.Rimkevičiūs, K.Ivaškevičius, N.Manchkavos, and E.Poderis hit the target, as did four "CSKA" players.
Then it was T.Kančelskis' turn, and the captain of the Kaunas team did not miss - his decisive shot was accurate. "Kaunas" won the second match in a row in the penalty shootout and finally overcame the semi-final barrier to compete for the Unity Cup title in the final.
